In this week’s Artist 2 Artist Challenge on improving our art and business skills, I wanted talk about procrastination.
It’s a word that often carries a heavy weight, especially for those of us in the creative realm. I’ve been there, grappling with deadlines looming over my head while my mind wanders to anything but the task at hand. Even writing this blog post… haha.. I procrastinating on it!
But let me share a little story with you, one that changed my perspective on procrastination forever.
Back in college, I remember stumbling upon a sweater adorned with a large letter “P.” In my excitement, I thought it represented Princeton University, a symbol of academic excellence. However, to my dismay, my roommates chuckled and pointed out that it actually stood for “Procrastinator.” Ouch, right? Little did I know, that sweater would stick with me as a reminder of my tendency to put things off.
Fast forward to today, and I’m here to tell you that procrastination doesn’t have to define us. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon Steven Pressfield’s “The War of Art” that I realized procrastination was merely a manifestation of Resistance, that invisible force that keeps us from reaching our full potential. And guess what? The number one way Resistance shows up in our lives is through procrastination.
So, why do we procrastinate? Fear often plays a starring role. Fear of failure, fear of success, fear of not being good enough—the list goes on. But here’s the thing: fear only has as much power as we give it.
Side Note: Although I do love to buy books, often times I will purchase the audio version and listen while I’m painting in my studio. Sometimes I’ll listen to educational material, inspirational stories or even fiction series. I love mystery novels too. I’m planning to do a few of my favorite book review blog posts in the future. One blog post will be dedicated to Steven Pressfield’s book the “War of Art” (and possibly a few other of his books – I’m a big Fan) because I truly believe it is a must read for All artists! I’ve added a cover image and link below – as yet another hint or strong encouragement especially if you’re anything like me with that Big letter P.
3 Simple Tips on Overcoming Procrastination for an Artist
Now, let’s dive into some strategies I’ve adopted over the years to tackle procrastination head-on. There are of course many more tips, which could be future blog posts, but these are three that have helped me.
- The 15-Minute Rule: Whenever I find myself dragging my feet, I simply tell myself to try for just 15 minutes. It’s amazing how quickly those 15 minutes can turn into an hour or more once I’m fully engrossed in my work.
- Prioritize and Focus: Gone are the days of endless to-do lists. I’ve learned to prioritize by selecting just three top tasks that need to get done each day. If those three get done, I’ll work on others but just focusing on the top three has helped so much. Setting reminders on my desktop synced with my phone helps keep me accountable.
- Face the Excuse: Whenever I catch myself making excuses for why I can’t tackle a task right away, I ask myself a simple question: if not now, when? This helps me confront my excuses head-on and empowers me to take action.
These are just a few tricks that have worked wonders for me, but I’d love to hear from you. How do you overcome procrastination in your creative process? Share your tips in the comments below!
Remember, we’re all in this together. Let’s banish procrastination and unleash our full creative potential.
“The most pernicious aspect of procrastination is that it can become a habit. We don’t just put off our lives today; we put them off till our deathbed.
Never forget: This very moment, we can change our lives. There never was a moment, and never will be, when we are without the power to alter our destiny. This second we can turn the tables on Resistance.
This second, we can sit down and do our work.” –Steven Pressfield, the War of Art*
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases
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